Video: Dodgers, NL West Over/Under Odds, Best Bets, Predictions

The oddsmakers expect the Dodgers to be good for 37 1/2 wins. Well, they expect to attract bettors with that figure, anyway.

And they will. Because who among has calculated what 37 1/2 wins means in a sport which normally plays 162? Well, I have, but only for the purposes of this exercise, and the number is 101. So if you take the over, you expect the Dodgers to have the equivalent of a 102-win season.

I think a more reasonable ask for Los Angeles is the equivalent of a 92-win season, which corresponds to 34 1/2 victories in a 60-game season.

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But look, everyone and their sister expects the Dodgers to win the National League West, and so do I. And the entire team, with the exception of Keibert Ruiz (delayed because of coronavirus protocols), is in camp and healthy. But projected third-starter David Price opted out of the season and ace Walker Buehler is well behind schedule, which is going to affect a higher percentage of his outings than the club would like, whether they say so publicly or not.

More importantly, the Dodgers can be the best in the West -- and the best in baseball -- without leading the planet in regular-season wins. If we've learned one thing over the last seven seasons, all of them ending with L.A. out-playing everyone through September only to stumble in October...well, I don't even want to finish the sentence.

If I'm betting on the 37 1/2, I'd take the under. But watch the video at the top of the page, with SI's Ben Heisler and me.

And remember, glove conquers all.

Howard Cole has been writing about baseball on the internet since Y2K. Follow him on Twitter.

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